Ohia and His Sorrows

There once lived upon the earth a poor man called Ohia. He had a wife named Awirehu. This unlucky couple had had one misfortune after another. No matter what they took in hand trouble seemed to lie in wait for them. Everything they did met with failure. They became so poor that at last they could scarcely obtain a cloth with which to cover their nakedness.

Finally, Ohia thought of doing a thing at which many of his village had succeeded. He went to a wealthy farmer near by and offered to cut his palm trees to make wine from the sap.

Ohia planned to catch the sap in pots. When this would be ready for the market, his wife would sell it. The money received for it would then be divided equally among the three.

When this plan was laid before the farmer, he readily agreed to it. Not only so, but he gave Ohia some earthen pots in which to collect the sap, for the poor man was not able to buy anything.

In great delight Ohia and his wife went to work. They cut down the trees and prepared them. They set the pots underneath to catch the sap. Before daybreak on market day, Ohia went out, with a lighted torch, to collect the wine and prepare it that his wife might take it into the town.

To his great surprise, on arriving at the trees, instead of finding his earthen pots filled with the sweet sap, he saw them lying broken in pieces on the ground.

Misfortune had overtaken him again. He secured new pots and found them broken the same way the second day. He had the same experience again but he got other pots only to find them gone in the same way.

This was sad but he took courage and set his pots in order for the last time. When night came, he stayed among the trees to watch for the thief. Midnight passed and nothing happened, but about two o’clock in the morning a dark form passed him on the way to the nearest palm tree. A moment after he heard the sound of a breaking pot. He crept up to the form and found out that the thief was a bush deer. It carried on its head a jar into which it was pouring the wine from the pots. Ohia tried to seize the bush deer, but it was too quick for him and escaped, dropping his pot on the ground.

The deer was so swift that it outran Ohia, but he followed and followed until he came to the top of a hill in the midst of a great gathering of animals of which the lion was king. Ohia had run into this group of animals so suddenly that he knew not what to do or say. King Lion ordered that Ohia be brought before him to be punished for disturbing the peace of the animals.

Ohia begged for a chance to explain the affair. King Lion agreed to listen to him. Ohia then told the story of his poverty and how he finally found out how to make palm wine which the bush deer was stealing.

The animals were pleased with this story and agreed that the deer was guilty. The deer was punished. King Lion, each morning, it was learned, had given the deer a large sum of money to purchase palm wine for them. The deer had stolen the wine and kept the money for some other purpose.

To make up for Ohia’s losses, King Lion offered him, as a gift, the power of understanding the language of all animals. This, said he, would speedily make Ohia a rich man. But he gave him this secret on the condition that Ohia must never—on pain of instant death—let any one know about his wonderful power.

The poor man, much delighted, started for home. When he arrived he at once began to make palm wine and had no more of such troubles with his pots. He and his wife were, therefore, happy.

One morning, while he was bathing in a pool near his home, he heard a hen and her chickens talking together in the garden. He listened, and heard a chicken tell the mother hen about three jars of gold buried in Ohia’s garden. The hen told the chicken to be careful, that her master might not see her scratching near the gold, and thereby discover it.

Ohia pretended not to notice what they were saying, and went away. As soon as the mother hen and her brood had gone, however, he came back and began to dig in that part of the garden.

To his great delight he soon found three jars of gold. In them was enough money to keep him in comfort all his life. He was careful, however, not to mention his treasure to any one but his wife. He hid it safely inside his home.

Soon Ohia and Awirehu had become one of the richest couples in the country. They owned a large amount of property. Ohia thought he could afford now to keep a head housekeeper to relieve his wife; so he hired one.

Unfortunately, the new woman did not at all resemble Awirehu, who had always been a good, kind, and honest wife. The new woman was very jealous and selfish. In addition to this, she was lame and always thought that people were making fun of her.

She had the idea that Ohia and Awirehu—when together—were accustomed to laugh at her. Nothing was further from their thoughts, but she refused to believe it. Whenever she saw them together she would creep up and listen outside the door to hear what they were saying. Of course, she never heard them say anything about her.

At last, one evening, Ohia and Awirehu had gone to bed. His wife was fast asleep when he heard a conversation which amused him very much. Two little mice were arranging to go to the larder to take some food as soon as their master—who was watching them—fell asleep.

Ohia, taking this to be a good joke, laughed outright. The lame woman heard him, rushed into the room, and accused him of making fun of her again to Awirehu.

The astonished man, of course, denied this, but she said again and again that it was true. The jealous woman said that, if he were laughing at an innocent joke, he would at once tell it to her. But Ohia could not do this without breaking his promise to King Lion.

His refusal, however, made the woman more suspicious, and she did not rest till she had told the chief about the whole matter. As he was a friend of Ohia, the chief tried to persuade him to tell what the joke was and set the matter at rest. Ohia would not agree to do such a thing. The troublesome woman gave the chief no peace till he called Ohia to answer her charge before the assembly in the public square.

As there was, then, no other way out of the difficulty, Ohia prepared for death. He first invited all his friends and relatives to a great feast, and bade them farewell. Then he put his affairs in order. He gave all his gold to the faithful Awirehu, and his property to his son and servants. When he had finished, he went to the public square where the people of the village were assembled.

He first took leave of the chief, and then began his story. He spoke of his many misfortunes, of his pursuit of the deer, of the secret which was given him, and of his promise to King Lion. Finally, he explained the cause of his laughter which had annoyed the lame woman. While thus speaking he fell dead, as King Lion had warned him.

He was buried amid great sorrow; for none knew him but to love and respect him. The jealous woman who had caused Ohia’s death was seized and burnt as a witch. Her ashes were then scattered to the four winds of heaven, and it is because of this fact that jealousy and selfishness are so widespread throughout the world, where before they could scarcely be found.

It is better to be poor and live long than rich and die young.

A man may be born to wealth, but wisdom comes only with length of days.